


I Hate You, I Love You

by nyooniverse



Category: NU'EST
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Flashbacks, Fluff, Love/Hate, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:54:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24785740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nyooniverse/pseuds/nyooniverse
Summary: Mingi might want to kill Dongho for introducing him to this anonymous dating app.Or should he thank him instead?
Relationships: Aaron Kwak | Aron/Choi Minki | Ren, Choi Minki | Ren/Kim Jonghyun | JR, Hwang Minhyun/Kang Dongho | Baekho
Comments: 3
Kudos: 13





	1. I Hate You

The sun is shining and birds are chirping. After a stormy week, the weather finally cleared up. It's such a perfect day to fall in love.

Mingi strolls by the Han River, heart full of anticipation. This morning, he had woke up an hour earlier than usual to prepare for today. Firstly, he took a nice bath in his bathtub, soaked in the lavender bath bomb that he specially bought. He then ransacked his whole wardrobe just to pick out an outfit, followed by spending another hour to style his hair and put on makeup.

The reason? He's meeting his date today.

"When is he going to come?" he mutters, getting excited as he scrolls his phone to check the other's location on the dating app.

_Dating app?_

Just last week, Mingi was having lunch with his close friend, Dongho. It was Dongho who recommend him the app, after personally trying it.

"You remember the guy I told you I matched with?" Dongho asked.

Mingi thought for awhile before replying, "The one named Minhyun?"

"Yes, Minhyun! I just met him yesterday, guess what happened? I fell.."

Mingi raised an eyebrow as he drank his cola, waiting for Dongho to continue.

"I fell in love," he continues. Mingi almost spat out his cola, "Are you fucking kidding me?" he cursed.

That was how Mingi ended up listening to Dongho's long-winded and cringey love story for an hour, before getting convinced to try the app as well.

* * *

**_[NU'DATE] You have a new notification!_ **

**Youngmin— I've reached!**   
**Ren [Me]— Ok! I'm wearing a black shirt!**   
**Youngmin— I think I see you! Turn behind!**

Mingi's heart races as he hears the footsteps approaching from behind. Someone gently taps his shoulder from behind, Mingi's heart flutters, ready to meet him. He turns around,

but disappointment welcomes him instead.

"Choi Mingi?!"

"Kwak Aron?!" they say at the same time, both sounding disgusted.

"Why are you here?" Aron questions, brushing the hand he touched Mingi with against his jacket.

"I should be asking you that!" Mingi crosses my arm, obviously pissed off by his actions.

"I'm here to meet my da-" Aron pauses, thinks for awhile before stepping back in horror. "Wait, don't tell me, you're Choi Ren?"

"You're Kwak Youngmin?!" Mingi screams back, attracting unnecessary attention because everyone around them is now staring.

Aron sends Mingi a death stare for being so embarrassing in the public, just like how he was years ago.

"You haven't change huh? Still so embarrassing," Aron hisses.

"And you, still so annoying," Mingi doesn't back down either.

This, brings us back to four years ago, when they were studying in the same high school...

**THROWBACK**

"Choi Mingi, show me your literature homework," Aron asks as he puts his bag down, taking the seat beside Mingi.

Mingi rolls his eyes at his annoying tablemate who just arrived, "No, why should I?"

Aron smirks evilly as he moves closer to Mingi's ears, "Oh, so it's okay if I tell everyone you like Kim Jonghyun from the other class?"

Mingi immediately puts his book down and covers Aron's mouth. "Fuck, you're threatening me now?" Mingi silently rages.

Kim Jonghyun, the student from the next class who's popular for his dancing skills. Mingi saw Jonghyun during one of his dance club's practice session, and immediately had a secret crush on him. Aron unintentionally found out the secret when Mingi was sleep talking during one of the Math lesson and spilled it himself. Luckily, only Aron heard it, and started using it against Mingi every time to annoy him, or when he needs his help.

Aron removes Mingi's hand and raises his eyebrow, "It's your choice."

Mingi has no choice but to pass him his homework that he spent the whole night doing, only for his annoying tablemate to freeload it.

"I really want to stab you."

—

"What kind of weather is this.." Mingi murmurs.

While they were bickering by the Han River, the sky suddenly filled up with dark clouds and started drizzling. Just as they reached the nearest shelter, the drizzle turned into a thundershower.

/Sneezes/

Mingi sniffles as he shudders due to the cold. The weather was so sunny in the morning that he only wore a simple shirt with jeans. Now he's regretting it because he's freezing.

Aron notices. He takes off his denim jacket and tosses it to Mingi, who looks at him confusingly.

"What?" Mingi asks.

"What what? I'm sweating, you can wear that for me," Aron comes up with an excuse. He truly sucks at lying.

Mingi snickers, "Just admit you're trying to be nice."

Aron laughs, "I'm not trying to be nice, I am nice."

"I thought you hate me since school days, which was why you left?" Mingi replies half-heartedly as he puts on the jacket, since he can't bear the cold any longer.

Aron stays quiet at what Mingi mentioned.

The memories start flowing back as he recalls what he thought he had forgotten.


	2. I Love You

**THROWBACK**

Aron drags his feet into the classroom, exhausted after spending the night to finish all his homework. Unlike usual, the seat beside his is empty.

 _"Weird, he's usually early,"_ Aron thinks.

Not long after, Mingi walks into the class, a wide smile planted on his face.

"What's with you today?" Aron asks, watching Mingi behaving weirdly.

"Why should I tell you?" Mingi sticks out his tongue playfully.

"You forgot I still have your secret that you lik–"

"That I like Jonghyun, right?" Mingi cuts him off, slightly annoyed at how Aron has brought it up for at least twenty times already.

"Listen, it's not a secret anymore. He knows, and we are together now, okay?"

Their classmate sitting in front of them catches the conversation and immediately turns around to clarify. Soon, everyone swarms around Mingi to hear the big news— that Choi Mingi is dating the school's popular dancer, Kim Jonghyun.

Aron doesn't know why,

there is this weird feeling lingering in him.

—

After that day, it took Aron days to realize,

_he has feelings for Mingi._

The reason why he disturbs him, is because he wants his attention. The reason why he always teases Mingi about Jonghyun, is because he's jealous.

The reason for everything, is because he truly cares for him.

_But it's all too late._

Aron thanks the driver as he unloads his luggage from the car boot. Aron pulls his luggage as he enters the airport terminal and queues up to check-in.

"Mr. Aaron Kwak, here's your boarding pass for the flight to Los Angeles," the airline staff says. Aron smiles lightly as he receives it.

He stares at it. Honestly, he didn't expect to go back so soon.

Aron has thought it through, that in order for him to let go completely, the best way is to leave the place where it happened.

Anyways, Mingi doesn't know, and should _never_ know.

Maybe Mingi will end up forgetting him, the most annoying tablemate. Aron's heart bitters at the thought.

But after he leaves, none of these one-sided feelings should exist anymore. Aron will live his usual life, and Mingi, hopefully happy with Jonghyun.

Aron's footsteps become heavy as he nears the departure door.

"Goodbye, Choi Mingi," he whispers.

—

"Yah! Are you listening?" Mingi snaps, after calling Aron for the fifth time while he was spacing out.

"H-huh? What did you say?" Aron finally responds.

Mingi rolls his eyes, "I asked, whether you want to sit closer because the rain is getting bigger," he repeats while tapping the empty and awkward space between them.

Aron looks. Indeed, the thundershower has evolved into a thunderstorm, and the rain is splattering in, wetting the side of his body.

He moves in closer to Mingi. "Thank you," he mutters out of the blue, taking Mingi by surprise at his sudden politeness.

"Did you finally mature over the years? You're so polite now," Mingi chuckles.

Aron chuckles along too, and the conversation continues.

"You know? The day the teacher announced that you have quit school, I was actually a little disappointed," Mingi blurts out.

"You were.. disappointed?"

Mingi hums in agreement, not sure how to put his words across.

"Like, you really left without a word. And I thought we were good tablemates, although you were so damn annoying," he laughs at the memory. "For the whole time, I assumed you did that because you hated me, which was why I didn't bother contacting you either," he continues.

He notices Aron not replying yet, and decides to take the chance to clear up his enquiries.

"Did you really hated me that time?" he asks.

"N-no, I didn't hate you, and I didn't leave for that reason either. I just, needed somewhere else, to settle my personal feelings," Aron answers, flustered.

"Then shouldn't you at least inform me? I literally came to school the next day and you were gone, with no explanations or whatsoever," Mingi complains.

"Sorry, I didn't think too much at the time. But I swear, it wasn't because of you," Aron lies without realizing.

"Okay, I'm glad to know that," Mingi smiles in relief. This matter bugged him for years. He seriously thought someone couldn't stand him to the point of quitting school.

Aron swears, his heart almost dropped.

"By the way, where's Jonghyun?" Aron raises, before realizing he just asked the most stupidly obvious question ever.

Why the hell would Mingi be on a dating app if they are still together? Aron curses himself in his mind.

Mingi sighs, thinking for awhile before answering.

"We broke up after two years," he starts, a solemn expression on his face. "After graduation, he got an offer from a popular dance school in Japan. He wanted me to go with him, but I couldn't leave aside everything here. I foolishly believed that he would stay for me. I guess I was too confident about our relationship, thinking it was stronger than anything else."

"In short, he chose his dream over me," Mingi recalls bitterly.

Aron is mentally slapping himself now for reminding Mingi of the past and making him upset. He keeps apologizing but Mingi simply asks him to stop being so gross.

"It has been two years, and I've moved on!"

Aron pats his shoulder as an encouragement, and Mingi gladly accepts it with a friendly smile. The two laughs in unison at the turn of events as they remember those school days as compared to now.

"We've grown up, huh?"

_Surely, both of them have changed, for the better._

An unexpected date and a bad weather, cleared up misunderstandings between them, even allowing them to open up to each other, when they were once the deadly foe in class.

_Life, is sure full of surprises._

The dark clouds disappear and the sun greets them again.

"So, Ren-ssi, would you like to grab a coffee somewhere?" Aron asks as they walk out of the shelter.

"Sure, Youngmin-ssi."

"But, it's your treat!" Mingi runs away as soon as he says it, sticking out his tongue playfully at Aron.

Aron watches as Mingi's most beautiful and natural self glows under the sunlight.

He now remembers those feelings he once felt, and he's quite sure they're returning.

"Yah! Wait for me!" Aron gives chase.

_The right person might come late, but never absent._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeepie! I guess this depicts Aren's love-hate relationship.


End file.
